Al-Adil therefore turned his army on the Zengid cities of Al-Khabur, which he took, and Nusaybin, which he trusted Al Mansur and Al-Ashraf to take, while he tried, unsuccessfully, to take Sinjar.
Zengid ruler Imad ad-Din Zengi, followed by his son Nur ad-Din (ruled 1147–1174) successfully unified Aleppo and Damascus and held back the Crusaders from their repeated assaults on the cities.